Joey and Lauren - Knight In Shining Armour
by lozxtitchx
Summary: Joey turns up in Albert Square after visiting Alice, and walks into/clears up Lauren's mess after her affair with Jake is revealed... ONE-SHOT, GUYS, SORRY!


JOEY'S POV:

As I drove into Walford, I was still unsure about whether I'd made the right choice to come here after visiting Alice in prison. Every single day since I'd left, I'd missed Lauren, and I needed to see she was okay, and as I'd said to her, making sure things were going her way. Pulling up outside number 5, I sighed heavily as I saw her sat on the steps, her head resting on her knees, all my questions being answered in that split second…

LAUREN'S POV:

Jake hadn't meant to hit me when he'd thrown the bottle. He'd meant to scare me into leaving. And he had, big time. I was now sat on the steps outside number 5, freezing, but I didn't care, I just needed time to myself. I was aware of a car pulling up, but didn't look up until I heard the all too familiar, much-missed voice of Joey…

"Lauren?" he whispered, the car door shutting behind him, making me jump a little bit

"Joey" I mirrored, my head shooting up. He was real, he was standing there in front of me

"Why aren't you inside, babe? It's freezing out here" he questioned

"What're you doing here?" I asked

"I asked you a question first" he replied, smiling at me "why don't we go inside, eh?"

I glanced over as I heard footsteps behind him, seeing Dad walking over. Stopping as he reached the exit of the gardens as he saw Joey, I smiled at him weakly and he made his way in the direction of the Vic…

"Lauren?" he asked, breaking me from my trance

"Yeah, inside" I replied, standing up, pulling my keys from my leather jacket pocket

Making my way up the steps, I unlocked the door and held it open for Joey, freezing as his facial expression changed as he noticed the cut on my face…

"What happened?" he asked, cupping my cheek with his hand, inspecting the wound

"I got in the way of a bottle" I informed him, smiling at him weakly

"What? How?" he inquired, raising an eyebrow at me as he shut the door behind us

"It's a long story" I replied, sighing heavily, making my way into the kitchen

"I've got the time" he informed me "but first, let's see to that, shall we?"

I nodded my head as he guided me to a seat, sitting me down. Watching him as he walked around the room, gathering up the things he needed, he kneeled down in front of me, beginning to clean it…

"Sorry" he whispered as I winced, the warm water he was using to clean it stinging "babe, I think you're gonna need stitches"

"It was a shard of glass, Joey, it'll be okay" I replied

He sighed and held his hands up in defence… "I'll have to get something more to cover it then, make sure it doesn't get infected"

"A plaster will do just fine" I informed him

Standing up, he made his way to the medicine cupboard. Turning my head to watch him, he pulled out a box of plasters and made his way back to me, measuring each one against the size of the cut…

"What're you doing here, Joey?" I asked as he finished patching me up

"I missed you and wanted to see you. Not a crime, is it?" he questioned

I shook my head, signalling no… "I'm glad you're here though"

Wrapping my arms around his waist as he leant against the worktop, I rested my head on his chest, feeling safe and protected for the first time since everything had kicked off. Wrapping his arms around me tightly, he ran a hand through my hair, pressing kisses to my hair occasionally…

"So are you gonna tell me what happened then?" he inquired as we eventually pulled away

"How long have you got?" I questioned

"As long as you need" he informed me, smiling at me warmly

I reciprocated the smile and sat down, inhaling and exhaling a breath… "It was Jake"

"What?" he asked

"Sadie found out about us, and I went to check he was okay" I explained "he threw the bottle to scare me and Dad into leaving, and a shard of it hit me"

"Babe" he sighed, running his hands over his face "why didn't you come with me when I asked you to?"

"I loved Jake, or I thought I did" I replied "but seeing how much pain I've caused. I was in his daughter's position, have been three times. How could I do that to someone? What have I turned into?"

"You were blinded, Lauren, blinded by temptation" he informed me

"I've broken a family, Joey" I proclaimed "I've torn a little girl's family apart. I'm a monster"

"Hey, hey, hey" he soothed, pulling me into him as I began to cry "you're not entirely to blame. Jake could've stopped this, but he didn't. This isn't all your fault, Lauren"

"No I know it's not" I sighed, inhaling and exhaling breaths to control my sobs "but I'm still to blame. I knew what I was getting myself into. Why couldn't I just resist the temptation? Then none of this would've ever happened"

Pulling me into him again, I began to sob against his chest…

JOEY'S POV:

Lauren and I had retreated to the living room a little while later, me having made us both a warm drink. We'd switched on the TV to some mind-numbing TV programme and when I glanced down at her about ten minutes in, she was fast asleep. Switching off the TV as the front door shut, Uncle Max walked into the room a couple of minutes later…

"Nice to see you, Joey" he greeted me

"Nice to see you too" I mirrored, smiling at him "Lauren's told me everything"

"I didn't doubt she would" he informed me "how is she?"

"Guilt-ridden, upset, exhausted" I sighed "I might get her up to bed"

"Do you think you can carry her without waking her?" he questioned

"I did it plenty of times when we were together" I informed him

Smiling at me warmly, he pulled off his jacket and threw it onto the back of the chair. Easing myself up from the sofa, I pulled Lauren up gently, placing one arm under her legs, her head drooping onto my chest. Making my way out of the room, I carried her upstairs, kicking open her ajar bedroom door, laying her down on the bed, covering her with her duvet…

"Are you going?" she whispered as I crouched down and stroked some hair from her face

"Yeah, it's getting late, babe" I informed her

"When am I gonna see you again?" she questioned

"Anytime you want" I replied "I'm only a tube ride away. I'll leave my address with Uncle Max, so anytime you feel like you need to talk or just get away, you can come to me"

"Thank you, Joey" she whispered, opening her eyes, turning her head to face me

"What for?" I asked

"Being my knight in shining armour" she informed me, smiling at me warmly before shutting her eyes again

"Anytime, babe, anytime" I replied, kissing her forehead and leaving the room


End file.
